Exposition of Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

I.     Blessed: Happiness or inward joy that comes from God

• Blessed are those who seek to be emptied: The spiritually poor, those who mourn, those who are humble,
• Blessed are those who seek to be filled: Righteousness, Mercy
• Blessed are those who do all of these with a purity of motive

II.    Blessed are the pure in heart, Matthew 5:8

• Pure - physically: clean, washed, without blemish, without stain
• Pure - spiritually: without duplicity, without hypocrisy, without ulterior motive
• “In heart” (cardia): Sometimes used to describe the physical heart of a person, but more common the term describes a spiritual reality, 600 Old and 200 New Testament references
  • From the negative side: Gen. 6:5, Ex. 8:15, Ps. 14:1 and Matt. 15:8, 18-19
  • On the positive side: Deut. 6:5-6, Ps. 51:10-11, 24:3-5, Eph. 3:16-17
  • The pure in heart marks the integrity of the person and describes the whole of spiritual life lived for the sake of God and His kingdom

III.     The promise that fulfills the longing of every believer’s heart: To See God

• See Psalm 24 and Psalm 51
• Moses request, “Show me your glory.”  Isaiah, “I saw the Lord, high and lifted up.”
• Jesus prayer for His disciples in John 17, “that they may see my glory.”
• See also I John 3:2

 

IV.    Application: There is a blessing for the pure in heart

• Humility before God and others, gentleness, personal righteousness, mercy all done from a genuine heart attitude toward God comes with an incredible promise, that we will see God face to face